Australia’s first Totally Artificial Heart serves as a bridge to keep patients alive before they receive a heart transplant.
Heart failure is a global epidemic affecting more than 64 million people worldwide, with rising prevalence. In fact, the waiting list for heart transplants has increased by 130% in the last decade. This is a serious healthcare issue and needs an urgent solution – more than 300 patients in the UK are waiting for the call that could save their life, but only limited heart transplantation can be performed due to limited donors. This statistic highlights the desperate need for options that can buy a patient more time before they find a suitable donor heart. One such innovation is the Total Artificial Heart (TAH), which reached a medical milestone with the success of first-in-human implantation, redefining what an artificial heart can be. It offers a lifeline to patients with severe heart failure, keeping them stable and alive during the critical wait for a transplant.
Like in the early 80s sci-fi movie “Threshold“, which imagined a future where patients could receive entirely mechanical organs, the first fully artificial heart has been implanted at St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney. The Australian team behind the project worked for many years to turn their idea into a reality, showing that with curiosity, collaboration, and courage, medical research creates life-saving innovations. With assistance from BiVACOR, a Californian based medical technology manufacturer, the 40-year-old end-stage heart failure patient who received the implant was discharged and walked out of the hospital with what may well have been the world’s first fully-functional artificial heart. That was in November 2024 and, after more than 100 days with the TAH, he received a donor heart. Thanks to this technology, he is not just surviving, but living.
Designed as a bridge-to-transplant for patients with end-stage heart failure, the TAH aims to keep patients alive while waiting for a donor heart. It works by pumping blood to both the lungs and the rest of the body just like a real heart. Unlike traditional artificial hearts that use flexible diaphragms and valves, which could increase friction and mechanical stress, BiVACORs’ rotor uses an Active Magnetic Levitation (MAGLEV). This is a significant advance that makes the device simple yet powerful, as it does not require mechanical bearings which could be susceptible to wear. Therefore, MAGLEV is more durable and energy efficient. TAH also has a small and portable power system which allows patients to move freely without having to be tethered to bulky equipment. The design is a marvel of bioengineering which blurs the line between machine and artificial organ and has the potential to dramatically improve a patient’s quality of life.
With the success of the first BiVACOR TAH, a promising new treatment option gives hope to those waiting on the transplant list. The breakthrough is a symbol of what’s possible when bold ideas meet determined minds.
The Artificial Heart Frontiers Program (AHFP) was led by Monash University in Australia with consortiums including Monash, BiVACOR, UNSW, UQ, Griffith, QUT, Baker Institute, Alfred Health, St Vincent’s.
Article written by Anthea Choi, a third-year pharmacology student at the University of Edinburgh.
Article edited by Eleanor Stamp, a Neuroscience PhD student at the Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, and an Online News Editor for EUSci.
Resources:
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00782-0
https://www.organdonation.nhs.uk
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